Sunday, November 27, 2011

Road Apples, #116

Thanksgiving...For the record I had an outstanding Thanksgiving holiday, spending time with the most important people in my life, including my beautiful daughters last night. There is truly much form me to be thankful for, and what a difference a year makes. Special thanks to my brother Chris, who saved me the drumsticks from Thursday's turkey (which will be my dinner tonight).

Blog Geek...While I haven't posted much over the past week, I have been making a few changes to the site, including a more in-depth "about me" description. The idea for this came from something written by D.B. Echo. Never let a good idea go un-stolen, especially when it comes to the Internet. I do need to do something about the blog mast-head picture, as it takes too long to load. I might need to do some cropping. Time to fire up Picasa, which has become my favorite free photo-editing software.

Tech Geek...As I've noted before, I'm considering the purchase of a tablet computer. It will be something of a gift to myself to mark an important milestone. Anyway, I spent some time yesterday at Best Buy playing with the tablets. A few observations:

Speed...the Android tablets seemed faster than the iPad. I realize that store display models aren't the best avatars for testing speed, but it was somewhat noticeable.

Display...the iPad's display wasn't as crisp as some of the Android models.

Android Interface...bottom line? Every Android tablet has the same interface. Zero real differentiation. The real differentiation among Android tablets lies in software add-ons and tactile feel of the device.

Sony...I played with the Sony tablet and I wasn't blown away with the overall feel of the device. The real benefit behind the Sony though lies in the software...especially the universal device remote control and the ability to play Playstation games. It was also not as large as some of the other models.

Motorola Zoon...man, the prices have dropped on this device.

Blackberry Tablet...has a great display and seems pretty quick. However I don't like the form (it is a smaller tablet) and I get creeped out by all of RIM's self-inflicted issues.

Kindle Fire...this isn't on my list, but man it is a cool device. Excellent display.

Scranton...Many reports over the past week or so about how my home-town is running out of things to sell and credit upon which to borrow. As I've noted many times before, Scranton's government is simply too large for the tax base to support, period. What's more, there isn't a secret of horde of "crony consultants" that, by eliminating, will save the fiscal day for the city (sorry Janet Evans fans). Scranton IS bankrupt, period. It's just a question of legally acknowledging this fact. The sooner that happens, the better.

Ron Paul...I want to like Ron Paul, I really do. He was giving a speech the other day in New Hampshire where he basically said the U.S. government had no business telling other countries what to do. I agree. However, Representative Paul seems to have no problem with the U.S. government telling women what they can and can't do with their own bodies. This is a contradiction I find troubling. While I don't support abortion as a concept, I find it troubling that some believe the government should have the power to reach into a woman's body make decisions for them. I don't expect that my position on this issue will resonate positively with everyone, but so be it. As the father of three adult daughters, I shutter to think what would happen if they were ever the victims of a sexual assault that resulted in a pregnancy; in such an instance I would not be qualified to tell them what to do...and I am their father...so the government sure has Hell is not qualified either.

Penn State...For several years I have made an annual contribution to the University. That will not happen this year. Mind you this has never been a large sum of money in real terms, but it was the largest single donation I would make to any organization. At this stage I simply can't support an organization that has been so focused on a stupid game that they were willing to look the other way when there was credible of child abuse. This was and is appalling. I'll find some other use for the money and hope that, in the coming months, real changes are made at Penn State.

"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started...and know that place for the first time."

- T.S. Eliot

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